It’s time for a few more movie recommendations. Today I’ll be offering my brief opinions of Tucker & Dale vs Evil, The Country Girl and Cargo.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil

I was first introduced to Alan Tudyk through Firefly, and from his appearances in Dollhouse I realised that he’s actually a really good actor. In this film he stars as one of two well-meaning hillbillies who encounter some college kids on a vacation. For their part, Tucker & Dale just want to enjoy their cabin but the kids have watched one too many slasher movies.

It’s similar to Shaun of the Dead in that it takes some genre tropes but doesn’t play them for cheap laughs, it actually crafts a good movie around the parody. Tyler Labine really stole the show as Dale and Katrina Bowden gave a good performance as the girl they rescued (or as the other kids think – captured). There were many laugh out loud moments and most of the deaths were over-the-top which I really enjoyed.

It has some heart, good laughs and is a very well made affectionate parody.

The Country Girl

I hadn’t really been exposed to much of Bing Crosby or Grace Kelly’s work. I assumed they mostly did light musical comedies and didn’t really give it much thought. The Country Girl, however, is a serious and intense look at an actor who is struggling with alcoholism and a fear of responsibility.

Bing Crosby plays a man who is in the twilight of his career, but gets offered an opportunity to star in a big New York production, but the success rests on his shoulders and he’s unsure whether he can handle the pressure. There was one tragic moment, an accident which completely unravelled his life and since then he’s been so scared to take any responsibility that he turns to the bottle while lying to others and blaming his problems on his overbearing wife.

Grace Kelly gives an Oscar-nominated performance as the suffering wife. For so long she’s tried to help her husband but he needs so much care she’s become more of a mother to him. He can’t live without her so she feels trapped, part of her knows she deserves to be happy but another part still loves him and feels that she just needs to help him get back to a place where he can be the man he once was. Grace Kelly portrays the conflict superbly.

William Holden is just trying to get the play made. At first he’s frustrated with his leading man, then as he opens up to the director, Holden becomes frustrated with the wife. It’s not that simple though and through his efforts to direct the play he soon becomes entangled in the situation.

Alcoholism is never an easy subject because a story involving it can often turn into a preachy message, but that’s not the case here. There are a lot of tragic scenes which make you feel sympathy for all the characters and each actor gives a complex, nuanced performance. It’s a really good film and I think it would be a good companion piece for The Long Weekend, which is the same sort of situation but seen through the eyes of a writer rather than an actor.

Cargo

I was bored on Sunday evening and wanted a sci-fi fix, I found this German movie. It takes place in the late 23rd century and Earth is no longer habitable. There is a colony on the planet Rhea but it’s not large enough to hold the entire human population. To get there you either need to win a lottery or have enough money to afford passage. Laura is a doctor who takes assignments on cargo runs to save money so she can join her sister on Rhea.

This mission takes four years, in which the crew will be in cryosleep apart from an eight month shift to monitor the craft. It’s a routine mission that is made complicated by threats of terrorist activity and a marshal being assigned. Things take a turn for the worse on Laura’s shift when she feels there’s another presence on board.

It’s not long before the mystery begins to unfold but the pace is suspenseful and there are a few interesting revelations. The spacescapes look gorgeous and the effects are good. The main ship reminds me of some concept art for the ring ship design that was once considered for the Enterprise. Overall it’s a very good old-school sci-fi movie.

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I was round my grandparent’s house yesterday and I mentioned about Etta James passing away (I told my Mum and Dad Friday night but I didn’t get much reaction) so we were talking about her, and then I told my Grandma that Hank Williams died on our birthday which she did not know. My Grandad then pulled out a mass of country cd’s and said I could borrow as many as I wanted. I also borrowed a Tom Jones cd but that’s not really relevant to this post. I’m always met with surprise when I tell people (especially for some reason people around my Dad’s age) that I love country music, and I suppose I’ve never really thought about why I like it, until now.

Hank Williams was recommended to me when I was about 18 and I was left in awe by his lyrics. I’d gotten into Elvis a bit earlier, and some of his stuff verges on country but it all had a rock n’ roll edge, Hank Williams was pure country. I dabbled a bit after that, heard random songs here and there, got into Johnny Cash and some other people but Hank Williams has always remained my favourite.

Country songs have a reputation of being about a lonely alcoholic who’s been left by the love of their life with all their hopes and dreams passing them by. It seems that a lot of people see this as a bad thing, and I’m not sure why. I can’t think of any other style of music that lends itself so naturally to encapsulating the glorious pain of life. I don’t know whether it’s because it’s so (and I don’t mean this in a demeaning way) uncomplicated – all you really need is one man and his guitar revealing his tormented soul.

I really like songs and poetry which reach deep into the dark recesses of the soul and drag out all the anger and bitterness, shame and regret and that’s what country music is all about. Hank Williams was a master at taking a single emotion and stretching it to squeeze every drop of tragedy out. That’s what I aim for with my poetry.

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I was very pleasantly surprised by An Education. It stars Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard who are supported by a good cast including Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike and Emma Thompson. It deals with Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a young girl, interested in classical music, art, literature and other sophisticated things when she’s swept off her feet by the charming David (Peter Sarsgaard).

The romance is handled maturely and without judgment. Jenny is a girl who dreams of a life where she can be intellectually nourished, travel to Paris and experience European culture. She feels trapped by her parents, particularly her father, who is reluctant to travel and seems to only want her to go to university so she can meet a decent husband. She argues that if that’s the only reason to go to university then she might as well not go at all.

David offers her the life she craves. He whisks her away to concerts and fancy restaurants, treats her as an adult, and introduces her to other like-minded people. He even manages to charm her parents, and he’s a sharp contrast to the awkward, shy boy she was involved with. As the film progresses she begins to doubt the importance of education. Her teachers lecture her that she’s throwing her chance away, but she argues that if she’s just going to end up with a boring life as a housewife or teacher then she might as well skip it and have fun.

Jenny isn’t presented as a doe-eyed naive girl. Rather we see her as a young woman who is aware of where she wants to be and is presented with an opportunity which she eagerly grasps. The relationship isn’t sleazy in any way, although there are a few question marks raised about his character.

All in all it was an enjoyable film examining the hopes and aspirations of a young dreamer who perhaps has an idealised version of life. And then we see the frustration and disappointment when others don’t correspond to her way of thinking. I definitely recommend checking it out. A bonus for me was that Duffy performed the song that played over the end credits, which was a good song I had not heard before.

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Back in late September/October I came to a disturbing realisation – I didn’t enjoy football anymore. I had completely lost interest in the game. I thought maybe it was due to burnout as I used to gorge on the sport, I watched a highlights show once a week, two or three games and read about it every day, not to mention the Football Manager addiction. I wouldn’t say my whole life revolved around football because I have lots of other interests, but it definitely took up a big chunk of my time. So it was a shock when I realised I just didn’t care anymore.

I don’t think there was an exact moment it happened, I just had a slow realisation that it didn’t matter to me whether the team I supported won or lost. It was a weird feeling at the time because I’d been a football fan almost since the day I was born and most of my family (especially my dad) and friends are into it as well. I tried watching matches but I just got bored.

Southampton FC were riding high, the newly promoted side were atop the Championship table. After a few depressing years finally things were looking up. There were shock results in the Premier League, new teams were challenging for the title while old ones were going through a transition. It all made for fascinating viewing and it promised to be a season with many twists and turns, culminating in the European Championships, where England would look to vastly improve after their dismal World Cup. And yet I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm at all.

I suppose I got tired that it had such an effect on moods. It was never so drastic with me, but with a lot of supporters if their team loses it puts them in a bad mood, or if they win they’re elated. And I just don’t like the idea of my moods being so heavily influenced by something which I have no real control over and let’s face it, the clubs always pay tribute to the fans but it’s not as if they know you on an individual basis. I just find it a bit false how people say “WE won today”, when they contributed nothing to the result. People don’t go to a concert and say “we put on a great show tonight”.

At its heart football is meant to entertain. Part of that is the pain and anguish but the reactions are so overblown, calling a defeat a tragedy. Every match is seen as a ‘must-win’ or a ‘crunch’ match. When in reality the club will still go on. There’s so much made of the changing fortunes of a club (it doesn’t help that the media are so reactionary) and so much hyperbole that you’d think even if the world was ending the headline would revolve around football. Teams win, teams lose, it’s not a crisis, there’s always another game and another season.

I also hated the tribal mentality. There are some disgusting chants shouted and because they’re part of a mass crowd and it’s at a sporting event it’s almost seen as acceptable to hurl abuse at people just trying to do their job. Casual racism and homophobic phrases are tossed about under the veil of passion and it saddens me that a game can be used for such vile behaviour. I realise football does do a lot for equality and fair play, but there are certain sections of crowds which display vile behaviour and I grew tired of it. We live in a civilized world and people should act that way.

It’s interesting now to look at the world as someone who doesn’t have a particular interest in football. I still can’t ignore it, because it’s so pervasive. It’s actually threaded into our culture and it’s such a staple of small talk that it makes it harder to find common ground with a lot of people. So many people I know identify themselves as a ‘____ fan’ it feels very peculiar to not be able to join in with the banter and idle conversation. Indeed, the only regret I have is that my love of football was one of the few things I shared with my father, so it’s sad that there’s one less thing to talk to him about. But I won’t miss football, and football won’t miss me.

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Frailty is a very good suspenseful thriller from 2001. The top two billed stars are Bill Paxton (who also directs) and Matthew McConaughey (whose surname I find really hard to spell so when needed I’ll just be copy & pasting. Also I think he’s really underrated, he’s got an easy charm, affable personality and a southern accent which in my opinion is the best accent in the world). However, the majority of the film takes place via flashback so the young performers (Matt O’Leary & Jeremy Sumpter) carried the majority of the film with the help of Bill Paxton who played their father.

The film begins with Matthew (copy & paste) McConaughey’s character claiming that he knows who a certain serial killer is. Usually with these films I find it quite easy to suss out what’s going to happen, but this had plenty of mystery and suspense which made the ending very satisfying. It does deal with religion, and while I’m not a religious man anymore I did find the stance the film takes interesting.

I felt the pacing was excellent and the performances were believable and engaging. Furthermore, some other films seek to shock the viewer with gore. Frailty uses the story to build suspense and inspire an uneasy feeling which increases as the film unfolds. I found myself becoming immersed and by the end I had a very creepy feeling, not helped by the wind howling outside. I can definitely recommend you watch this.

I’m going to share with you some of my favourite opening scenes of movies. I’m not including title sequences, just the first scene or sequence. I’m sure there are some that I’ve forgotten but these are the ones that mostly sprang immediately to mind.

Scorsese is my favourite director and this opening really shocked me. First – De Niro walks out of the restaurant, then he gets in his car, then [SPOILER ALERT!]…BOOM. The obvious dummy switch just adds a bit of camp charm.

First we have the iconic crawl and the epic Williams score, but it’s the bit after that which I really like. The music calms but then suddenly a ship comes into shot, and we realise we’re in the middle of a space battle. The seemingly endless Star Destroyer dominates the screen and it keeps coming and coming and coming. Instantly we’re hooked into a galaxy far, far away.

This is epic. First we’re cramped in the little transport, watching these men and boys vomit, pray, and listen to commanding orders as they bob along. Then suddenly they’re exposed to the chaos and as the bullets pour in the blood pours out. We’re disoriented as we’re taken underwater and then returned to the maelstrom. And as the red water flows over Tom Hanks we see both determination and fear in his eyes.

The Bond series has got a lot of good opening sequences, but this is my favourite. The whole pre-credits sequence is a decent mini-film in its own right but I’m mostly focusing on the dam rather than the Facility. I stare in awe at the jump every time I watch it, it’s simply breathtaking.

However it does help that it inspired one of the most enjoyable first levels in gaming history.

The Lion King is probably my second favourite movie of all time, and it gets off to a stunning start. Amazing visuals complemented by a good song, and Simba is so cute. I am surprised he doesn’t squirm more when Rafiki picks him up, my cat hates it when I hold her like that.

I loved the first X-Men movie, and the second one stepped everything up. This fight scene with Nightcrawler was very well choreographed and it just fills me with geekish glee to see him bamf in live action.

This is very funny, but I love it because of Jim Carrey’s uncanny impression of Andy Kaufman. He gave an amazing performance in this film and I think it’s a shame that it’s overlooked when discussing Jim Carrey’s films.

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It’s about a brain damaged janitor who gets mixed up in a bank robbery. At first I didn’t think it was anything special and I wasn’t even going to watch it, then I saw that it starred Joseph Gorden-Levitt so I gave it a chance.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this briskly-paced film. Gorden-Levitt turned in an endearing performance as the tortured janitor and he was ably supported by his co-stars. Jeff Daniels, as the blind roommate was very entertaining and impressive. It was also nice to see a small role for Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort, fromSmallville). Isla Fisher was the main love interest, and although her exit from the film was abrupt she was lovely and sweet as always.

Rob’s Recommendation – Definitely watch this, seek it out at a rental shop or whatever. You won’t be disappointed.

Rachel Getting Married

This stars Anne Hathaway as a young woman who comes out of rehab mere days before her sister’s wedding. Needless to say she causes some tension within the family. Now Hathaway does give a good performance, but it’s not really enough to save the film.

The film has an air of self-importance, it’s shot to resemble a home video, and home videos are always boring unless you know the people involved (and even then they’re a chore to get through). So at times I was thinking why do I even care what happens to these people.

There are long toasts, even longer scenes of people dancing and by the time it gets to the wedding you just want the pain to end. It doesn’t offer anything challenging or thought-provoking and the only good bits are scenes which are unintentionally hilarious. There’s one scene where Hathaway’s character, Kim goes to confront her mother and they end up punching each other. It’s devoid of tension and I was so bored by this point that it was just funny watching them fight.

Rob’s Recommendation – DO NOT WATCH THIS.

Deal

Burt Reynolds is the retired poker ace, Bret Harrison is the online hotshot who’s good with the numbers but not with people. Some real life players make appearances as well. It’s a straightforward mentor/protégé story which doesn’t offer anything new to the dynamic. There are few surprises and what you think will happen probably will happen. It’s not terrible but it’s not great, and there are better poker movies out there.

Rob’s Recommendation – If it’s on and you have 90 mins to kill I’d say watch it. If you have an interest in poker you might get a kick out of seeing some of the players making appearances.

Bronson

The portrait of Britain’s most dangerous prisoner Michael Peterson a.k.a Charles Bronson. I’d never heard of Bronson before I saw this so I don’t know what he’s like in real life. Tom Hardy gives an excellent performance and it’s very stylishly directed.

The only negative thing I can say about this film is that it rewards Peterson with what he wants. Throughout the film it’s stated that all he wants is to be famous and be remembered. And though this film doesn’t necessarily glorify him, it does give him what he wanted. And I’m not sure if he should have been given that satisfaction.

Rob’s Recommendation – Watch it for Hardy’s performance, and realise how wasted he was in Star Trek: Nemesis.

I’ve seen a lot of films, and some of them aren’t that great but they contain a scene that really stands out. It may convey a deep emotional context or just beautifully shot, either way it’s elevated over the rest of the film. So these are just a few of my favourite scenes in otherwise average movies.

#1 – Blood Spurting in Bangkok Dangerous

I’m a pretty big Nic Cage fan, and Bangkok Dangerous isn’t a bad film. He’s an assassin sent to Bangkok for a hit, but he falls in love with a deaf local woman. The scene I love is when he takes her for a romantic stroll. They walk along a river but he notices a few men following him. The two of them pause and he tells her he’ll be right back.

While she’s gazing at the beautiful night sky he brutally murders the men sent to kill him. And it’s this juxtaposition of beauty and horror that I really like. She’s completely oblivious to the violence behind her, and Cage’s character is trying to hide his true nature from her. Eventually blood from one of the bad guys spurts onto her pristine white top and she realises what’s going on.

She’s an innocent naive woman and just as the blood has stained her top so too has her life been stained by Cage’s character. And before all she saw was beauty but now she’s been exposed to this shocking ugliness.

#2 – Shark Throw in My Super Ex-Girlfriend

I didn’t like this movie. I didn’t find it especially funny and I can’t remember much from it. But it had this one good scene. Uma Thurman plays the super ex-girlfriend and at this point in the movie is very mad at Luke Wilson. So she does what any jilted lover with superpowers would do – in one of the most ridiculously awesome scenes I’ve ever seen she throws a shark through the window of her ex’s apartment. And it’s great.

#3 – Destruction of the Enterprise in STIII – The Search for Spock

TSFS is one of my least favourite Trek movies, it’s definitely my least favourite movie with the TOS cast (yes I even like The Final Frontier more). But the scene where the most beautiful ship ever finally bids farewell is almost as heart-wrenching as Spock’s death scene in the previous film.

We see the flaming, broken hull sail through the sky leaving Kirk heartbroken. First he had to lose his closest friend, then arguably the love of his life. As they watch the embers burn in the heavens Kirk and Bones exchange these great lines of dialogue:

Kirk: My God Bones, what have I done?

Bones: You did what you had to do, what you’ve always done. Turned death into a fighting chance to live.

#4 – Rain Vision in Daredevil

I’m going to finish off with a couple of superhero ones. There’s a lot of mixed reaction to Daredevil, I happen to think it’s alright. But this scene is quite possibly my favourite in the entire history of movies. Daredevil of course is blind but he tells Elektra that when it rains he can ‘see’ due to the vibrations the rain drops make when hitting something.

They’re on the roof and it’s pouring with rain, and we see how he sees her, and it’s beautiful.

#5 – Hulk vs The Storm in The Incredible Hulk

I don’t mind both Hulk films, but like Daredevil there’s a lot of mixed reaction. This particular scene takes place just after the campus fight scene, and Hulk has taken Betty to a cave for safety. They’re surrounded by mountains as a storm howls around them. Betty is frightened and Hulk notices. He stands at the edge of the cave and roars at the storm. Hulk loves Betty so much that he’ll do anything to protect her, even take on nature itself. It really strikes at the core of the character and it sends shivers down my spine when I watch it.

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Instead of thinking about which powers you’d want to save the world this is a list of the best powers to help yourself.

#10 – Copying oneself

Quite literally self-serving, being able to generate numerous copies of yourself would be very useful. Need to be in four places at once? No problemo. Too tired to go to school/uni/work? Send a copy while you dream the morning away in bed. However you’d have to be careful not to send too many copies out, lest people become suspicious. Also it would be depressing if your copies got to live your life while you just wasted away in bed. It could also lead to an identity crisis.

Example: Multiple Man

#9 – Invisibility

Along with x-ray vision this is probably the most wanted power for teenage boys. I think it’d be great, to be able to go wherever you want. You’d never have to queue for anything again. You could scare the hell out of anyone. There’s even a ready-made Queen song for you to use as your personal theme.

After all that time spent being invisible I think it’d be hard to go back to being visible. The only problem with being invisible is that you just become an observer of life rather than a participant.

Example: Invisible Girl

#8 – Shapeshifting

It’d be easy to manipulate and deceive people. You could pretend to be someone else, or make loads of money by filming celebrity sex tapes. Like invisibility it would offer complete freedom but shapeshifting offers the advantage of being able to interact with people. You’d also never need plastic surgery.

Another aspect is that if you had the same type of shapeshifting as Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine then you literally become whichever object you shift into. So you can experience what it’s like to be a rock…okay maybe that’s not the most dynamic example but my point is it would open up a whole new realm of experiences.

Example: Mystique

#7 – Midas Touch

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. You get to turn things into gold. Gold is valuable. Simples.

Example: Bob from Heroes, King Midas

#6 – X-Ray Vision

I think you all know what this would be used for. You bunch of pervs.

Example: Superman

#5 – Super Speed

I’d actually really like super speed. It’s not the most self-serving power out there but it would be very practical. It’s not like it’ll let you take over the world but for everyday use it’s helpful. No more transport woop!

Example: The Flash, Quicksilver

#4 – Telekinesis

Like super speed it’s practical for everyday use. Technically it’s not the Force but it’d be the closest thing to a Jedi (or Sith) as we can get. It’d be great for causing slapstick mayhem, and I’d love to just knock someone’s hat off and watch them keep picking it up while getting ever more bewildered. Con – could lead to extreme laziness.

Example: Jean Grey

#3 – Probability Manipulation

I’m sure we’ve all fallen foul of Lady Luck at some point. I don’t believe in fate or reason, I think the world is just largely chaotic and random. So having a power that lets you have some element of control over this chaos is very useful. I bet you all know at least one annoying person who’s so lucky in life that they somehow manage to get a good job and a beautiful partner and it just all seems to work out for them and it drives you absolutely crazy (think Frank Grimes regarding Homer Simpson).

You could be that lucky person who just half-asses their way to happiness.

Example: Scarlet Witch

#2 – Master of Time and Space

Oh how I’ve longed to be able to go anywhere anywhen. You could sample different cultures at different times, visit historic meetings, meet famous historical figures. Or just go back to 1955 and play Johnny B. Goode at a high school prom.

Example: Hiro

#1 – Thought Implantation/Mind Control/Telepathy

I grouped the three together because they’re all pretty similar and generally if you have one you have the others.

I just can’t see how this isn’t the best. With telepathy you know exactly what other people are thinking and if you have mind control you can make anyone do anything you want to. With shapeshifting you can manipulate people but it still requires some people skills whereas this just requires you to plant a thought in someone’s head. You can’t be whatever you want to be, but you can make people believe you are whatever you want to be.

Example: Professor X

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Over the years Star Trek has had a few good romances but a lot of bad ones. I’ve picked what I consider are the five worst. I’m not going to choose ones where the characters were possessed by another lifeform or where they were influenced by some space parasite or anything like that. I’ve just picked genuinely bad romances.

#5 – Kes & Neelix ST: VOY – Caretaker onwards

The Ocampan wonderkid and everyone’s favourite Talaxian were already an item when we were introduced to them. Before Voyager came along Kes stayed on her home planet and Neelix hung around in his ship waiting for the odd chance to visit her. I can see why initially they were together – Neelix had the allure of being a well-travelled stranger and Kes, let’s face it, Neelix was batting well above his average.

But once they were aboard Voyager I can’t see anything they had in common, and Neelix turned into a jealous possessive control freak. It’s a wonder they lasted as long as they did.

#4 – Uhura & Scotty – STV: The Final Frontier

Not sure if this really counts as a romance but the thought of it is so brain-scrapingly cringy I had to include it. It’s like finding out your grandparents have sex. Just ew.

#3 – Julian Bashir & Serena – ST: DS9 – Chrysalis

I actually think these two had good chemistry and were cute together but it was totally unprofessional on the part of Dr. Bashir, after all she was a patient. Furthermore her whole life had just changed completely and it was rather unfair of him to smother her in a relationship before she got a chance to work out who she was. The main reason why this one makes my list is because it’s a bit creepy. I don’t think Serena is a properly developed adult and Bashir is taking advantage of her naïveté.

#2 – Chakotay & Seven – ST:VOY – Endgame

Oh boy what can I say? Totally out of the blue, no chemistry, no good.

#1 – Jadzia Dax & Douchebag from Meridian (Deral) – ST:DS9 – Meridian

Meridian is my all-time worst episode of any Trek series and it’s actually putting me in pain just thinking about it. Jadzia was never my favourite but this episode was so out-of-character for her. So she’s met a guy who’s not even that great (he’s no Worf, heck he’s no Captain Boday) and is suddenly ready to give up her whole career and life to be with him. Even worse she’s ready to give up the symbiont’s life!

I know throughout the series she was portrayed as something of a party girl but she was never really irresponsible like this, and she certainly never endangered the symbiont. After eight lifetimes (or was it seven at that point?) you’d think she’d be mature enough not to be phased out with this random alien of the week. An interesting angle would have been to suggest that the symbiont was suicidal. After all the series never really did delve into the symbionts as organisms. Did they ever get bored of life?

I didn’t buy the depth of their love at all. I understood they both had a mutual respect for each other but it’s definitely not a case of starcross’d lovers. It seems that this was a generic Star Trek story and the writing staff either didn’t have time or just plain forgot to tweak the script.

Horrible episode, horrible characterisation and that’s all I really have to say about it.